Diane Arbus

Everyone’s favorite Siri spokesman John Malkovich has graciously lent his talents to photographer Sandro Miller, who’s given the world the gift of Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich: Homage to Photographic Masters. The idea’s pretty self-explanatory: Miller recreates indelible images, from Andy Warhol’s self-portrait to Diane Arbus’ image of identical twins, with Malkovich replacing the original subjects. The effect’s sometimes eerily exact (with a mustache, Malkovich is sort of a ringer for Albert Einstein) and sometimes hilarious (no amount of makeup is going to hide the fact that Malkovich is not Marilyn Monroe). Click through for the full experience.
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Fun, art-friendly Tumblr alert: Eleanor Macnair’s Photographs Rendered in Play-Doh. Famous snaps by Diane Arbus, Julia Margaret Cameron, William Eggleston, and more get the Play-Doh treatment. Jean-Paul Goude’s iconic image of a sleek Grace Jones in an impossible arabesque (copied by Nicki Minaj in her “Stupid Hoe” video) becomes outsider art when composed with kid’s modeling clay. And what’s not to love about the spaghetti (worm) hair in the remake of Joseph Szabo and Man Ray’s photos? See more Play-Doh creations, which we first glimpsed on Lost at E Minor, below.
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Let’s face it: the coffee table book is not just a book; it’s an item designed to indicate the relative level of sophistication of its owner. It’s a fetish object which ideally turns the sophistication dial up to “high.” Displaying coffee table books is, thus, essentially an invitation to people to judge you. A lot of people go wrong there, in my opinion. So here are 50 books that should be populating your coffee table instead of the latest collection of Vanity Fair‘s photo… Read More

At least one of the deer-hunting shots from I Am Legend, where Will Smith runs through deserted New York streets, takes place in the Chelsea gallery district, mostly likely during the summer. Even on a busy opening night, blocks full of art galleries almost always seem expansive and empty from the outside, and this gets more intense during the summer, when enough major players close up for the season to convince art lovers that there’s nothing to see. It’s worth reminding ourselves that I Am Legend isn’t real, and actually, there are a loads of galleries that are worth visiting during July, for reasons besides their offerings of air conditioning and shade. Here are ten of the best shows opening across the country this month.
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The development of the suburbs changed the social, political, and environmental landscape of America forever. The postwar exodus to a growing suburbia signified possibilities and prosperity, which is far different from our view of the suburbs now. Artists have been examining the conventions of suburban life since the first white picket fence appeared. While we anticipate the Mad Men season finale airing tonight — a series that knows a thing or two about suburban development and the hopes and fears of a country facing great change — let’s take a look at ten artworks that interpret the spirit of the suburbs.
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Let’s be honest. It’s hard to take a dignified self-portrait in the mirror — to arrange your face casually, to half-pose without feeling contrived, to push the button without feeling a bit silly… for us, that is. These are professionals. They spend their days behind the camera, so it’s quite exciting to peek into this intimate moment in their private space, to soak in the details — from the dimples in their face to the patterns of their wallpaper to their camera gear. A demure Diane Arbus in the ’40s, a surreal Weegee in the ’50s, a sexy Helmut Newton in the ’70s — we’re fascinated by these pre-Internet, pre-cliché images from the masters. Here are a few known art photographers and noted photojournalists shooting themselves. OK, now your turn.
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In 1971 Norman Mailer said that “giving a camera to Diane Arbus is like putting a live grenade in the hands of a child.” Lo and behold: Child With Hand Grenade. Even before her suicide that year, Arbus’ magnificent body of work evoked criticism and suspicion of exploitation. She was drawn to the so-called deviants, outsiders, marginalized people, glamorous transvestites, graceful giants, disturbed-looking children, circus performers and of course, twins and subjects with other birth eccentricities. Had she lived, Arbus would have been 89 years old today. In tribute, we’d like to present you with this brief survey of some of the most controversial photographers, contemporary and of recent yesteryear.
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What happens when an artist drops his brush or a photographer lowers his camera to pose for a portrait by a colleague? We investigated and found a snap of a young Nan Goldin, pre-fame and sans blouse, Francis Bacon’s face deconstructed by the strokes of Lucian Freud, and Picasso romping around in a big blond wig for Brassaï. Often starkly casual peeks, these portraits are brimming with a friendly intimacy and professional camaraderie. Take a look at some of our favorite cultural figures as models in the slide show.
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After running features on the childhood photos of both famous writers and rock stars over the past few weeks, it might seem like we’re a bit youth-obsessed at Flavorwire lately. But we promise that that’s not the case. We just think that there’s something fascinating about images of cultural icons snapped long before they’d become household names. It humanizes them a bit. And so, today we turn our focus on the art world — specifically, some of the most influential talents of the past 100 years. Click through to peep photos of everyone from a dashing young Andy Warhol (pictured here) to a breathtakingly adorable baby Yoko Ono.
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